Noha Alshugairi received her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies (2018) from Graduate Theological Foundation; her M.S. in Counseling (2007) from California State University, Fullerton, and her B.A. in Zoology (1986) from Rutgers University. She is currently a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy in private practice in California. In addition, she is a Certified Positive Discipline Lead Trainer.

Noha trained in various therapy modalities and chooses which one to utilize depending on the need of her clients. In addition to her formal education with the Counseling Department at CSUF, she continues to enrich her professional knowledge through workshops and trainings. Her most recent trainings included: How to Treat Social Anxiety with Dr. Burns; Emotionally focused Couple’s therapy with Dr. Susan Johnson. Her areas of specialties include but are not limited to: existential crises, identity formation, parent-child relationships, women issues, couple dynamics, family relationships, parenting, general life struggles, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Noha works with individuals, couples, & families.

Noha strongly believes that a nurturing empowering adult-child relationship is at the core of a strong community. Hence, she has become an advocate of parenting classes and teacher training focused on connection and encouragement. While her philosophy is grounded in Islam, she has found in Positive Discipline a practical down-to-earth method to teach this philosophy. Since becoming a Certified Positive Discipline Trainer in 2008, she has facilitated several school-wide trainings and conducted many parenting workshops.

In addition to her formal training, Noha brings into her sessions a rich life experience. She was born in Cairo, Egypt but her life journey took her through Nigeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and finally the US. Her years in Saudi Arabia, where she attended elementary, middle, and High School, have given her a strong foundation in the Islamic Sciences. She combines her rich understanding of Islam and her counseling education to help clients find their own answers.

Her years in the US were filled with various volunteer and professional roles. She led a high school girls’ study group for 4 years and continues to be a mentor for many young women. This experience, along with others teaching and directing weekend schools and programs, brought her in touch with the real issues facing our young teens and their families. In addition, before becoming a therapist, she worked as a teacher and a principal in Islamic schools for 5 years which gave her a deep understanding of the issues facing those schools.

Finally, Noha has been married for 38 years to Amer Zarka, a cardiologist practicing in Orange County. She has been blessed with seven children: Omar and his wife Maryam, Hisham and his wife Kinza, Mona and her husband Amr, and Lemiece. For Noha, family has always been a priority. Most importantly, she knows firsthand the challenges facing Muslim families as they struggle to raise their children in the United States. Noha is keenly interested in helping the American Muslim family integrate faith and culture in the U.S.